“I wish there were more left-handed selections…” Hanwha general
manager Son Hyuk expected a synergy effect with foreign players and young players over the 2023 team’s starting rotation plan. The pitching content of new foreign pitcher Birch Smith is encouraging so far, and Felix Pena, who is in his second year, is expected to be able to show better pitching as he adapted to last year’s KBO League. In fact, Pena also changed his pitching pattern at the end of last year and his strikeouts increased. It is also noticeable that he lost weight considerably before coming to this camp.
Min-woo Kim, a native ace, forms a three-punch with the two players. The remaining two spots are reserved for young players. General manager Sohn first paid attention to Moon Dong-ju and Nam Ji-min, and said that he expected that the two players would fill at least one spot. If they can handle more than half of this year’s season, the expectation is that next year, each of the two players will be able to occupy one spot. As the 5th selection is a place where other teams often change their protagonists, the use of various players is anticipated.
However, what is worrisome is that the five most prominently mentioned players are right-handers. It is best if you throw well regardless of the throwing hand, but it is better to pack a rotation that balances left카지노 and right. General manager Sohn also joked, “There is a player who is not currently a member of our club, but…” while selecting the development of the left-hander selection as one of the tasks.
Currently, Ryu Hyun-jin (36), who belongs to Toronto, is the main character. Before the start of the 2013 season, Ryu Hyun-jin entered the major leagues through the posting system (private competitive bidding). Since he was not a perfect free agent (FA), he must return to his home team, Hanwha, when he comes to the KBO league.
Ryu Hyun-jin also emphasized his affection, saying, “I must return to Hanwha,” when training jointly with Hanwha players ahead of their departure for spring training in 2022. Rather than immediately ending his playing career in the major leagues, he reflected several times that he would end his active career in the Hanwha uniform. However, for Hanwha, Ryu Hyun-jin’s return is still too far away.
General manager Sohn, who is close to Ryu Hyun-jin, also speculated that the elbow surgery itself might have something to do with Ryu Hyun-jin’s will to extend his career in the major leagues. And his elbow surgery rehabilitation was viewed relatively positively. He is cheering that he will be able to recover sufficiently.
In fact, Ryu Hyun-jin will be eligible for free agency again after this season. He is very sorry for the year he lost due to injury ahead of free agency, but he still has a chance. As he is a player who has already sufficiently demonstrated his skills, interest in the free agent market may also grow if only his rehabilitation proves that he has gone well.
Perhaps the next free agent contract can be a yardstick for carefully predicting the timing of Ryu Hyun-jin’s return to Hanwha. As he is in his late 30s when his contract period is filled, it is time for Ryu Hyun-jin to slowly think about finishing in his home country. Although Hanwha has yet to even dare to put Ryu Hyun-jin in their full potential, it is of interest to see if they will be able to become a strong team and embrace an ace at that point when they meet someday. If the plan goes smoothly now, nothing is impossible.